March 1887.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



41 



The serenade at night is nothing compared 

 with the short morning concert. That seems 

 to be an involuntary and general impulse upon 

 starting from their retreats for field woi-k. At 

 this time too the tameness of the singers is 

 worth noting. A Robin will remain on a gate- 

 post or horse-block, within six feet of a passer- 

 by, its throat bursting with song, and if startled 

 will pick up its broken song the second it alights 

 a few feet away. 



Notwithstanding the hue-and-ci'v about the 

 protection of birds from the milliner and collec- 

 tor, there is no dimiuution in most kinds here, 

 and in some species a positive increase. If we 

 except the hole-builders, dispossessed by the 

 European army of 0(^cupatlon, it is hard to 

 name a species that is decreasing. Are there 

 not as many crows as ever, though pursued re- 

 lentlessly by the farmers; and though shot for 

 his plumage the countr}^ over, is not the Blue 

 Jay exceedingly common everywhere? And so 

 though the Scarlet Tanager is shot right and 

 left, each year sees as many more. In the 

 (;ountryside we note a scarcity only among the 

 Bobolinks and Indigoes. For the first the au- 

 tumn ''menus" assigns the true cause. Of citv 

 birds there is surelj^ no lack. 'J'his year ever^' 

 family has its pair of Catbii-ds. On one apple 

 tree in our neighbors yard nestled Kingbird, 

 Vireo, Bluebird, Purple Finch and Tanager. In 

 one Phoebe's nest on our house were hatched 

 three sets of young ; the first lot were kicked 

 out of the nest by a growing cowbird, but I 

 took the cowbird's eggs fi-om the other two 

 sets and the Pewees throve. Baltimore Orioles 

 fairly hold their own. 



There are fine singers which have been in- 

 creasing in our city for several years. The 

 Wood Thrush here finds a safe place for its 

 adobe hut on the low horizontal limbs of the 

 maple shade trees. Take your stand at the 

 Union street entrance of the City Hall and 

 walk a few rods north, and j-ou will hear, on a 

 fine June forenoon, half a dozen Tanagers on 

 Tail Hill singing their incisive lay. The Purple 

 Finch is the most persistent April singer every- 

 where here, the Robin for May, and the Warb- 

 ling Vireo for late June. The last bird, like 

 the Orchard Oriole, which used to be a rare 

 sti'aggler city-wards, but now nests on every 

 side of our town. I knew of five nests this sea- 

 son — one nest on a young pear tree, not six 

 feet from the street, was guarded by a bull-dog, 

 a hive of bees, and an ever-open casement near 

 by. This performer sings most freely in the 

 torrid June noon-tide when other songs are 

 hushed. June 12, 1886, Orchard Orioles, nest- 



ing in the pear and apple trees, were noisily 

 singing in every corner of the village of Noank. 

 The last and most welcome addition to our ur- 

 ban list is the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, which is 

 now^ becoming common in the city limits. Last 

 year I drove upon the sidewalk up town, and 

 with my whip started the female fiom her nest 

 and extreme set of five eggs in a spii;ea bush, 

 and this season I knew of three nests in the ci- 

 ty- 



The English Sparrow* distrusts the gaudy 

 Finch and makes war upon the male whenever 

 he tries to sing a note. The modest female 

 through her dress and engrossing domestic du- 

 ties fares better. By nesting in the city, these 

 woodland singers escape many natural enemies 

 and the dust shot of the collector. But for the 

 cats and the too-observant school-boy they 

 would thi-ough their songs, do more than their 

 share towards making our homes in summer an 

 earthly paradise. 



[Happy Norwich! Our large cities do not 

 fare so well. Take Pliiladelphia for instance. 

 There no birds are to be found in the built up 

 portion of the city except English Sparrows, 

 and we never hear a single song note. Only in 

 the parks and suburban districts is the joyous 

 song of a bird heard. — Ed.] 



A Trip to the Farralone Islands. 



BV HARRY R. TAYLOR, ALAMEDA, CAL. 



The Farralone Islands, which lie about twen- 

 ty-three miles oft" San Francisco Baj', are rugged 

 and wildly picturesque rocks, where myriads 

 of sea-fowl make their homes during the breed- 

 ing season. The largest and only inhabited 

 island is South Farralone. where there is estab- 

 lished an important lighthouse station. 



On the fifth of June, 1S8G, I was so fortunate 

 as to make a collecting trip to this interesting 

 island, and, while there, secured many fine 

 specimens of eggs and skins. A Government 

 supplj' steamer visits the light-keepers on Far- 

 ralone only once in several months, and as there 

 is no other communication with the island ex- 

 cept by fishing boats at irregular intervals, a 

 visit to them is not always practicable, and is 

 seldom accomplished without diflicultj-. It was 

 with some degree of satisfaction then, that I 

 steamed out through the Golden Gate, on the 

 Government steamer Iladfono, determined to 

 see ever}^thing possible of the bird life on these 

 seldom visited rocks in the Pacific. 



